


we can mend the holes (and rip a few new ones)

by MemeMachine562



Category: Minecraft (Video Game), Video Blogging RPF
Genre: ? - Freeform, Blood, Blood and Injury, Body Horror, Chat snatches Techno's body, Don't worry its a apocalyptical universe, Enderman Hybrid Ranboo (Video Blogging RPF), Everyone is fine, How Do I Tag, Implied/Referenced Character Death, Minor Injuries, Minor Violence, Piglin Hybrid Technoblade (Video Blogging RPF), Possession, Technoblade Hears Voices (Video Blogging RPF), Tell me if I need to add anything, Time Travel, Time Travelling Karl Jacobs, no beta we die like men, the egg
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-15
Updated: 2021-03-16
Packaged: 2021-03-17 13:48:14
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 8,665
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29472708
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MemeMachine562/pseuds/MemeMachine562
Summary: “Uh . . . ” Ranboo was very concerned, Techno wasn’t acting like himself.His eyes were bright with almost manic energy, and his hands were twitching violently. Not only that, but Techno never spoke that much in one go, especially not . . . like that. It sounded like a bunch of different thoughts all shoved together, fragmented sentences.Or; The peeps meet Chat!
Comments: 38
Kudos: 559
Collections: Completed stories I've read





	1. Ranboo

Ranboo was, admittedly, a touch nervous. Techno had asked to talk to him, something he had never done before. Ranboo really thought he was about to get kicked out. Had he done something wrong recently?

Ender, he was acting like a child. It probably wasn’t even that big a deal. Maybe Techno just needed help sorting his chests. Or maybe it was about rent? There was nothing to point towards him getting kicked out. 

At the same time, Ranboo was notorious for overthinking, this situation wasn’t too odd for him. He was probably just assuming the worst. It was just that he really didn’t want to get kicked out, not now that he had actually put some more time into building his house. He would hate to have to leave it.

Shaking his head violently, Ranboo started pulling his things together. He put all of his valuables into his Ender Chest, just as a precaution, putting everything he couldn’t fit into the chest into his inventory. He highly doubted Techno would kill him, so he should be safe just holding the important stuff.

Wow, he really did have trust issues, didn’t he? He knew Techno wouldn’t hurt him, and he also knew it was quite improbable that he was going to get kicked out. He was just overthinking things.

But you know what they say, just because you know you’re colorblind doesn’t mean you could see colors. Ranboo was aware he was making a big deal out of nothing, didn’t mean he could stop doing it.

With a heavy sigh, Ranboo pushed out his front door. He was immediately greeted by a harsh wind, nearly knocking him over. Pulling his suit jacket tighter, Ranboo made a mental note to get some warmer clothes. If he was going to stay in the tundra there was no reason to willingly freeze himself. 

There was, luckily, no snow. Looking up at the sky, Ranboo didn’t think there was going to be any snow for a while. There wasn’t a single cloud in the sky, and the air seemed crisp. Ranboo quite liked the cold. He wondered if the End was cold, it was the only reason he could think of that he would feel so at home in it. He couldn’t remember ever being to the End, so he wouldn’t know.

Rebalancing himself, Ranboo started the walk towards Techno’s cabin. It didn’t take too long, the walk was a short one, afterall. 

Pushing his way into the main floor of the cabin, Ranboo had to force the door shut through the wind. He had never felt wind like the wind of the tundra, it was a certain type of powerful. Like it could rip the sky apart if it wished, it just didn’t want too. Patting down his hair in a vain attempt to rid it of the windblown look, Ranboo realized that he didn’t quite know where Techno was.

“Techno?” Ranboo called out hesitantly, “You there?”

There was a loud crash from the loft, and Ranboo immediately became quite concerned. 

“Uh, Techno?” Ranboo started climbing up to the loft, “Are you ok?”

Stepping off the ladder, Ranboo was met with a . . . odd sight, to say the least. Techno was kneeling on the ground next to the bed, his hair was in disarray. He didn’t seem to notice Ranboo.

“Uhm . . . .” Ranboo took a small step forward, “Techno?”

“Hm?” Techno’s head snapped up towards Ranboo, then his eyes lit up with glee, “Ranboo! Ranboo. It’s the ender boy. Hi!”

“Uh . . . ” Ranboo was very concerned, Techno wasn’t acting like himself.

His eyes were bright with almost manic energy, and his hands were twitching violently. Not only that, but Techno never spoke that much in one go, especially not . . . like that. It sounded like a bunch of different thoughts all shoved together, fragmented sentences.

“Not quite!” Techno jumped to his feet, stumbling over himself a bit, “Techno wanted to talk to you about . . . Something. We can’t remember. He got distracted! Now we’re here.”

“Oh - Uh, what?” Ranboo was thoroughly confused, “If you aren’t Techno, who are you?”

“We’re Chat!” Techno’s head lolled to the side slightly, as if he(they?) had forgotten to hold it up.

“And - uh, what’s that? Chat?” Ender, Ranboo was out of his depth. “Who are you, I guess is the right phrasing.”

“Hasn’t Techno told you about us?” They seemed genuinely confused about that, “We’re the voices in his head!”

Oh.  _ Oh. _

Techno had told him about Chat, though in the vaguest terms he could. The description he had gotten was “A bunch of voices who really like death, and yelling E at me.”

Which, to be honest, didn’t give him much information.

“You said you didn’t remember what Techno wanted to talk about?”

“Someone might. I don’t! Anyone?” Chat seemed to be consulting themselves, which was odd to think about. Their eyes unfocused as their arms went limp, their head started dangling. It was clear they had just forgotten they needed to do things with their body to keep it moving, they were probably preoccupied.

“Oh! Techno wanted to tell you about us! In better detail.” They smiled dazedly, “Then he got muggy. Fell away. He really didn’t mean too. He was just really tired and stressed! He doesn’t do well with talking. Sorry! No, we’re not. We never get to come out during peacetime! Why would we want to?”

“Oh . . . Uh. Thats . . . nice.” Ranboo took a few hesitant steps away, “Uhm, I think I’m gonna go?”

“If you want! No, stay! If he wants to leave he can.” Chat fell back onto the ground, falling almost completely limp. They slumped against the bed, hair curtaining their face. Despite all of that, their voices were still cheery. It was as if they were more used to emoting with their voices then a body. Which, in all fairness, they probably were.

“Bye Bye Ranboo!! See ya! Say hi to the pets for us? Yeah! Bye!” Chat’s nails dug into the floor, leaving scratch marks, “You might wanna leave quickly! We aren’t very good at holding back. Trying out best! Blood for the Blood god. It would be best if you left. Bye!”

With those foreboding words ringing in his mind, Ranboo turned and slid down the ladder. He wanted away as quickly as possible. He remembered that Techno said Chat liked death, and Ranboo didn’t really feel like dying. He sprinted out of the Cabin back towards his house.

Ranboo decided he really didn’t like talking to Chat.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chat doesn't know how to emote properly, they just ain't used to having a body.  
> Hope you enjoyed!


	2. Tommy and Tubbo

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tommy had been having an absolute shit day. Nothing seemed to be going right for him. First Bad had tried to drag him away to Ender knows where - an issue he solved by running in the opposite direction as quickly as possible - then he had spent far too long gathering materials for his hotel. Finally, to top it all off, he had been caught in a snowstorm on his way to Snowchester.
> 
> In some effort to cheer him up Tubbo had offered to go exploring. Just like the old days - he had said - it’ll be fun!

Tommy had been having an absolute shit day. Nothing seemed to be going right for him. First Bad had tried to drag him away to Ender knows where - an issue he solved by running in the opposite direction as quickly as possible - then he had spent far too long gathering materials for his hotel. Finally, to top it all off, he had been caught in a snowstorm on his way to Snowchester.

In some effort to cheer him up Tubbo had offered to go exploring. Just like the old days - he had said - it’ll be fun!

And it was, fun, that is. Tommy was quite enjoying himself, now that they had finally walked away from the mess that was Snowchester. Not that the town itself was a mess, but Ender did Tommy hate the snow. He couldn’t understand why Tubbo would want to build a whole town around it.

And maybe it was the fact that snow had been heavy on his mind, or the bad day that he had been having, but Tommy found that he was unconsciously walking to Techno’s house.

Upon that realization, Tommy froze in place,  _ shit. _

Unfortunately, Tubbo knew Tommy very well and picked up on his mood shift quickly.

“Big man?” Tubbo was the picture of concern, “You good?”

“Course!” Tommy spluttered, he knew he wouldn’t be able to lie to Tubbo, “I’m always alright!”

Well, if that wasn’t the most bullshit excuse he could have managed. Tommy was almost impressed with his own stupidity.

Tubbo clearly didn’t buy it, but he seemed willing to let it drop.

“Whatever you say, big man.”

Tommy slowly started moving again. What was he supposed to do? It wasn’t like he could just turn around, Tubbo’s goodwill only extended so far, he would need to explain himself. He really didn’t want to talk about it, walking to Techno’s house because he was upset had some . . . unwanted implications.

Groaning internally, Tommy regretted waking up that morning. Today was clearly only suffering. He could practically feel Tubbo’s concern radiating off him. He needed to fix that, he was dragging down the whole mood! He picked the easiest distraction he could think of.

“So, Tubbo,” He started, “How’s Snowchester going?”

As expected, Tubbo immediately lit up.

“Oh, just wonderful!” Tubbo’s eyes shone with joy, “It’s so nice, I just love it there.”

“I’m glad you’re happy,” Tommy’s voice was genuine, “You deserve it, big man.”

“Thanks, Tommy,” Tubbo’s eyes softened, “I really think it could be . . . home.”

The mood was officially lightened. Man, Tommy was so good at this distraction thing.

That still didn’t solve Tommy’s ‘heading towards Techno’ Issue. Maybe he could make slight adjustments? Just curve around it? That sounded like a good idea.

Tommy knew he would be much more upset if he didn’t have Tubbo with him. Everything was better when he was with Tubbo.

They continued on their way, Tommy making subtle course corrections as he went, Tubbo seemed unaware. To be fair, Tommy supposed it wasn’t too odd for him to want to walk in a certain direction, Tubbo probably didn’t think anything of it.

As they were walking, Tommy heard a faint horn in the distance. He wrote it off though, it sounded rather far away, probably wouldn’t be any concern. Tubbo didn’t seem to share his opinion.

“Was that a pillager horn?” He looked in the direction of the sound, “I’d really rather not get into a fight right now.”

“It’ll be fine!” Tommy scoffed, “It’s far away, and we can handle a few pillagers!”

“I guess,” Tubbo seemed unconvinced, he shook his head a bit, “Yeah. It’s fine.”

“Course it is,” Tommy grinned, “You got big man Tommy here to protect you!”

Tubbo let out a laugh at that, some of the tenseness draining from his posture. Tommy thought Tubbo was far too tense far too often.

After a few minutes, Tommy felt . . . something. Uneasy, like something was watching him.

Tommy had been in enough fights to know that not trusting his instincts was a horrible idea, so he stayed alert. Listening closely for any sounds, any clue that someone was following them. Tubbo seemed wary as well, he had likely picked up on the same things as Tommy had. The forest was far too quiet, birds gone silent. Something was very wrong.

It was then that Tommy heard it, a faint crackling. Footsteps? He couldn’t quite tell. What he did know was that they were coming from next to Tubbo. And fucking hell, he was not going to let Tubbo get hurt.

He quickly stepped around Tubbo, placing himself between his friend and the noise.

“Tommy wha-” 

Tubbo was interrupted by the thwip of a bow being fired. Before Tommy could comprehend what was happening, there was an arrow embedded in his shoulder. A sharp pain shot through him and he grit his teeth. 

“Fuck!”

He could see Tubbo shifting into battle mode from the corner of his eye, but he kept his vision of the enemy. Stepping out of the bushes was a pillager.

Damn, Tommy was never going to write off danger ever again. It was a new rule of his. Paranoia was apparently the way to go.

Then, to make a bad situation worse, another pillager stepped out of the forest. Then another, and another, and another. Until there was an entire patrol standing there, aiming their bows and readying their axes.

Well fuck.

Tommy scrambled to pull out his sword, Tubbo doing the same next to him. He felt vaguely comforted by Tubbos steady presence, feeling better with his best friend at his back.

There was still the fact he had an arrow in his shoulder to deal with, It hurt like a bitch and effectively took his right arm out of commission. He hissed out a few very colorful swears as he was forced to hold his sword in his left hand. He didn’t usually fight with his left arm.

One of the pillagers lumbered forward, lifting it’s axe into the air before swinging it down at Tommy. He dashed to the side, dodging the axe, just barely. His response time ripped to shreds by the stabbing pain in his shoulder. Darting forward, Tommy got a few hits in before he had to jump back to avoid another axe swing.

He saw Tubbo jump forward to hit the pillager with his sword, jumping back after a few slashes. Tommy felt his heart drop as he saw the danger Tubbo was in, because in jumping back he had put himself in range of another pillager.

“Tubbo-!” Tommy was too slow in his warning, and Tubbo took an axe swing to the back. He fell with a cry.

Fuck Fuck Fuck. This was bad. They weren’t at all prepared for a fight.

Tommy rushed forward at the pillager standing over Tubbo with a roar. He leapt at the beast and stabbed at it recklessly. He got a slice on his stomach for his troubles, but the pillager fell to the ground, bleeding out. Tommy was sickly pleased.

No one hurt Tubbo.

His friend was still on the ground, Tommy had to protect him. Jumping over Tubbo’s prone form, Tommy blocked the remaining pillagers from getting to him. Adrenaline and panic covered the pain, dulling it.

Two pilliagers charged forward at him, Tommy slashed at one's eyes with his sword - he was playing dirty, but they had hurt his best friend - before ducking down to kick at the others knees. He had missed with his sword slash, but there was now a quite deep gash in the first pillager's face, and the other was kneeled on the ground. Tommy had a powerful kick.

Pushing forward at the downed pillager, Tommy stabbed at it’s chest, hoping to finish it off quickly. Unluckily for him, the pillager held up its arm, catching the sword straight through the limb, effectively blocking the blow. In good news, the bitches arm was fucked.

The first pillager charged at him, swinging an axe at his neck, a blow which he ducked under. He slashed at the beasts chest, leaving a good size slice. Not quite enough to keep it down, though.

He really needed to finish this quickly, he had to get Tubbo somewhere he could heal him. He refused to let his best friend die to some random ass pillager. Not after how far they had come.

He growled lowly, taking a few steps back to regroup. He had done quite a bit of damage, it was just a shame he hadn’t been able to take either of them out. 

He realized his mistake far too late. He had been too focused on the closest pillagers, he had forgotten about the archers near the treeline. Tommy was abruptly reminded of their existence when they all shot at him at one. Instinct had him dropping to the floor, but the quick fall jostled the arrow in his shoulder. He bit his lip to hold in a cry of pain, this fucking sucked. Motherfuckers were testing his patience.

Pushing himself to his feet, Tommy readied himself to fight the closet set pillagers again, with an extra eye out for flying arrows this time. He had hardly had time to reorient himself when he heard a faint rustling behind him. Oh shit,  _ Tubbo. _

He spun around to see a pillager approaching from behind, how had he gotten around him? It seemed luck was on Tommy’s side, however, as the beast wasn’t intelligent enough to go after the now unconscious Tubbo. It only advanced on Tommy, growly menacingly. Tommy readied himself to fight that one.

And that’s where Tommy made his second mistake, he turned his back on his enemies. Even if it was so that he could face another enemy. Really, Tommy thought he was doing quite good for the situation.

The pillagers behind him used his momentary distraction to push forward on him, but instead of swinging at him or chopping his head off, they took advantage of a weakness he had so foolishly shown them.

He felt a hand grasp at the arrow in his shoulder, before a harsh tug had the arrow snapping in half. Tommy let out a scream, unable to muffle it as white hot pain jolted through his body. His vision swam, and he felt himself collapsing more than he actually saw it. 

Laying on the ground, Tommy could vaguely make out the forms of pillagers approaching him. He couldn’t gather the energy to stand, his mind still muddled by pain. It was rapidly clearing, not fast enough for him to continue fighting, unfortunately. Just enough for him to understand that this was probably the end.

At least he was with Tubbo. At least Tubbo had passed out, it would be quick for him.

With a full body sigh, Tommy let himself go limp. He wasn’t going to win this one. Closing his eyes, he braced himself.

After a couple seconds with no axes swung at his head, Tommy heard a commotion. He peeled his eyes open, and -

Oh thank fuck.

Techno was stood in front of him, shielding him from the pillagers. No matter their differences in the past, Tommy was quite happy to see him. Techno had a chance. Even if he failed, he still had three lives left. It might be enough for Tommy to get Tubbo out of range.

Ender, when had he become such a pessimist? 

Watching through dull eyes, Tommy saw Techno charge forward at a pillager, stabbing at it with his sword. The blow wasn’t anywhere near fatal, but Tommy imagined it hurt like a bitch. Good.

Techno fell back when the beast swung at him, dodging the axe, before throwing his sword full force into the pillager's neck. It’s head fell, cleanly separated from its body.

Techno moved back towards Tommy, keeping his eyes on the pillagers - who were clearly assessing the new threat - before dropping two health potions to the ground beside Tommy. Tommy resisted the urge to shout in glee. He saw Techno moving back towards the patrol out of the corner of his eye, but he was too focused on his friend. He could help him now!

Tommy threw the splash potion down at Tubbo’s feet. Some of it hit Tommy, and he sighed in relief when his minor cuts faded. He still had half an arrow in his shoulder, making it so he couldn’t heal that wound. He was going to have to pull that out. 

He would have to trust Techno to protect him while he did it.

Bracing himself, Tommy reached up to his shoulder and grasped at the broken shaft. He tugged it out in one quick move, barely able to bite back a scream at the pain, his vision swam momentarily.

Moving so he was a bit closer to Tubbo, Tommy threw the second splash potion at his feet, some of it hit his friend as well. Tommy slumped, pain draining from him, leaving him feeling bubbly and bright. He could finally think straight.

He reached out and shook Tubbo’s shoulder, he needed to make sure he was alright. Tubbo stirred slightly, but didn’t wake up. Tommy shook him again.

“Nnnggg, five more minutes,” Tubbo’s words were slurred, “ ‘M sleepy”

“Wake the fuck up, man,” Tommy spoke harshly, “We have a situation here.”

Tubbo’s eyes opened slowly, glazed over, before some form of awareness entered them. He immediately shot up straight, eyes clearing and filling with panic.

“Tommy, t-the pillagers,” He rushed out, “Are we -”

“We’re safe, for now.” Tommy reassured, pointing towards the battle, “The Blade found us.”

Tubbo’s eyes snapped over to where Techno was fighting, before widening significantly.

“Holy  _ fuck, _ ” Tommy looked over to Techno for the first time since he had been given health potions and -

“ _ Holy FUCK,”  _ Tommy whisper shouted.

Techno was absolutely destroying the pillagers, but it wasn’t . . . quite normal. He seemed to have lost his sword, and was slashing at the beasts with his claws. He was splattered with blood - quite a large amount of it was around his mouth - and was acting . . . Strange, for him.

He was clearly quite injured, a deep gash in his leg that Tommy swore he could see bone through, and an arrow wound in his shoulder. Despite all of that, Techno was still fighting with gusto. It almost seemed like he couldn’t feel it.

And don’t get him wrong, Tommy knew just how numbing adrenaline could be, but he had never seen someone walk off wounds that severe.

On top of all that Techno was acting very odd. He wasn’t fighting like usual. Techno often fought like he was fencing, super fancy like. He wasn’t doing that now, he was harsh and heavy handed. Tanking hits and dealing out heavier ones.

He was also giggling, quietly and under his breath. Tommy almost didn’t hear it, but it was definitely there, the sound was unhinged and empty. There was also a constant stream of whispers, muttered words under his breath, but Tommy couldn’t make them out.

Something was clearly wrong. Tommy just wished he knew what, and if it would put Tubbo in danger.

“Let’s just . . . “ Tommy murmured to Tubbo, “Stay out of range.”

Tubbo nodded in agreement and they both shuffled a little farther from the fight. It didn’t seem Techno needed their help, because the fight ended in a few quick and bloody minutes. Tommy had grown increasingly concerned, because Techno looked fucking insane. He licked his lips clean of blood and Tommy shuddered, what the fuck.

“Uh, Techno?” Tubbo spoke softly, “You ok?”

Techno’s eyes slid over to Tubbo, they were glazed over and empty. Techno wasn’t there. Tubbo squeaked and moved back a bit. In that moment, Techno’s eyes filled with so much emotion that Tommy thought it would overflow. Glee, Excitement, and a bright insanity.

“We’re fine. Are you? We’re good.” Techno’s words slurred together a bit, “You alright? Are you hurt?”

“Techno . . .” Tommy started cautiously, “is something wrong?”

He really didn’t want to have to fight Techno, but something was clearly going wrong in that head of his, Tommy was prepared for anything. Techno’s hands twitched briefly, before stilling completely. Tommy wasn’t even sure he was breathing.

“No. Well, kinda? No, nothing wrong.” Techno’s eyes were unfocused, looking somewhere over Tommy’s shoulder. “We aren’t Techno. It’s kinda rude to call us Techno. They can’t know. Are you blind?”

“Uhh, what are you talking about, big man?” What in the everloving fuck was happening, “What do you mean you aren’t Techno?”

“We mean we aren’t Techno. Duh. You’re a bit slow. Can’t blame em.” Techno’s(?) head lolled to the side, “We’re Chat.”

Tubbo seemed to come to a realization of sorts.

“Oh! Ranboo told me about you,” Those words seemed to make Chat very happy, their eyes filling with toxic glee, Tubbo hesitated “He - uh, he said you were a bit murderous.”

“We are! I don’t know if you noticed Tubbo, but we did just kill an entire Pillager raid. It’s kinda obvious.” Chat’s face was completely blank, but their voices were so emotive it was a bit odd to hear in Techno’s voice. “Blood for the Blood god.”

“Uhm, I think I’ve been left a bit out of the fuckin loop here,” Tommy raised his hand, “Explain?”

“We’re the voices in Techno’s head! Except right now we aren’t in his head. It’s a bit like possession. Cept we never leave!” Chat smiled brightly, insanity danced in their eyes, “Yeah, that’s a good analogy! That works. Bit simplified.”

“Ohh-kay.” Tommy nodded, he was just going to go with this, he took a few quick steps away “Sure. Yeah, ok.”

“Uh, Chat?” Tubbo spoke up, “You’re kinda bleeding to death.”

Oh, yeah. Techno had been injured pretty badly. It hadn’t gotten any better since then, there was a puddle of blood forming beneath him. Though Tommy couldn’t tell if it was his or someone else's.

“Hmm? Oh, yeah! Whoops. We forgot.” Chat’s eyes glued to the ground, pupils dilating, “Blood for the blood god.”

“You forgot that your leg bone was showing?” Tubbo seemed to be in disbelief, Tommy understood the feeling, and he was just going to ignore that second part.

“Yeah, we don’t feel pain. Imagine feeling pain, L. Yeah, imagine. We aren’t used to having a physical form is all.” Chat wasn’t moving at all, almost like they had forgotten too, their head lolled to the side, resting on their shoulder.

“Wait wait wait. You don’t feel pain?” Tommy asked, “That’s wicked.”

“It is! Except for the part where the body still feels pain, so we pass out if it gets too much. Having a physical form is so overrated.” Chat perked up slightly, “Is the fight over?”

“Uh, yeah?” Tubbo seemed a bit confused, “Everything is very dead, so.”

“Good! Nice. Awww, but I was having fun.” Chat seemed to be shutting down, “We’re tired. It was nice talking to you two! The body is giving out. Could you heal us? Thanks! Bye.”

With that last goodbye, Chat passed out. Straight up collapsed. Fell to the ground into a puddle of blood.

“Ok, What the fuck.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Bro I struggled with this chapter for the longest time because it just wasn't sounding like Tommy, then I realized I hadn't sworn a single time. You can't write Tommy without swearing a bit.  
> Hope you enjoyed!


	3. Puffy

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Puffy was at the end of her rope. Really, she was running out of patience, of which she had a considerable amount.
> 
> Bad had been talking to her - at her, really - for the past fifteen minutes, and every time she tried to leave he would follow.

Puffy was at the end of her rope. Really, she was running out of patience, of which she had a considerable amount.

  


Bad had been talking to her - at her, really - for the past fifteen minutes, and every time she tried to leave he would follow.

  


“But really Puffy!” Bad spoke quickly, “You should consider it!”

  


“I’m not gonna join your Egg cult, Bad!” Puffy snapped, “Stop asking!”

  


“But Puffy-” Bad was borderline pleading, “Everything'll be better if you do! The Egg will make everything better.”

  


Something was off, Puffy could tell. This wasn’t Bad’s usual argumentative, Egg Mormon norm. This was something different, he was different. It was strange, Bad had never been this insistent, he usually left after five minutes of one word answers from Puffy. 

  


“The answers no!” Puffy huffed out a breath, “Let it go, Bad!”

  


“I can’t!” Bad spoke with conviction, he was sure of this.

  


“Why not?!” Puffy rolled her eyes, tired of the conversation “Let me have my own opinion, Pro - Omelete.”

  


“But you’ll-” Bad cut himself off, clearly wanting to say something, “Please.”

  


And that was enough to give Puffy pause, stopping her from storming off once again. Bad had never said please, not when talking about the Egg. It was always ‘you have to’ or ‘now, Puffy’. It was never please, he never begged like this. It felt wrong.

  


“Bad,” Puffy softened slightly, “Just let me be.”

  


“But you can’t,” Bad spoke quietly, so quiet Puffy wasn’t sure she was supposed to hear it “You won’t.”

  


Well that was . . . concerning, Puffy couldn’t work out what it meant, but it sounded sinister. It sounded final.

  


Looking closer, Bad wasn’t looking so good. His clothing was rumpled, and his tail hung limply behind him. It was enough to pull up some level of concern from Puffy, before she viciously stamped it down. It didn’t matter how Bad was doing, Puffy didn’t care anymore, not after all Bad had done to her.

  


Something was clearly wrong, though. This almost seemed like a last ditch effort from Bad, one last try, which didn’t make any sense. Unless it meant that he was going to stop asking? That would be the best case scenario, really, if he stopped caring.

  


But maybe she could make her own last ditch effort, try to get through to him one more time. It couldn’t hurt, though she doubted it would work.

  


“Bad,” Puffy started, “You don’t look so good, are you alright?”

  


Instead of having the desired effect - Bad loosening up or confiding in her - it only served to make him more upset. His eyes filled with unshed tears as his ears flattened. Puffy noticed that the white of his clothing was stained slightly red. Was that a good sign?

  


“Ender, Bad,” Puffy exclaimed, “What’s happened to you?”

  


“A - a lot,” Bad practically deflated, “a lot.”

  


“Was it the Egg?” Puffy questioned, “Is it doing something to you? Bad, you have to get away from -”

  


“It doesn’t matter,” Bad interrupted her, “I’m fine.”

  


“You clearly aren’t,” Puffy hoped her disappointment was coming across properly, “But whatever. As long as you leave me alone.”

  


With those words, Puffy saw the small bit of red disappear, consumed by white again. She didn’t know what that meant, but it was a bit concerning. 

  


“I’m afraid I can’t do that, Captain,” Bad closed off, “I need you to come with me.”

  


“No way,” Puffy almost wanted to laugh, “Why would I do that?”

  


“Because if you don’t,” Bad seemed to steel himself, before pulling out an axe and holding it up to Puffy’s throat before she could react, “I’ll kill you, right here and now.”

  


Puffy was getting Enderdamned whiplash from Bad’s shifting emotions. More important than that, Puffy was now in imminent danger. She really didn’t want to follow Bad, but she didn’t see that much choice.

  


“Alright,” She conceded, “Fine. I’ll go with you, but I’ll never forgive you for this.”

  


Bad didn’t even flinch, in fact, he seemed to smile slightly. Insanity danced in his eyes, his tail swishing behind him happily. Puffy found it difficult to believe this was really Bad. Bad, who cried when he stepped on a bug. Bad, who was her best friend. This wasn’t him, this was someone completely different. Puffy really missed Bad.

  


Bad started walking, pushing Puffy along in front of him. It didn’t take long for her to recognize their path, panic snapping through her. They were going to the Egg. 

  


“Wait -” Puffy hesitated, “Bad. Wha-”

  


“It’ll be fine,” Bad smiled serenely, a harsh juxtaposition to the axe still poking her back, “You just need to see It again, I’m sure you’ll come around.”

  


Puffy swallowed, before starting to walk again, steps slightly slower than before. She was so screwed, it was facing the Egg or facing Bad, and she wasn’t sure she could win either of those fights. She would probably have better chances with the Egg - It’s effect had never been as strong on her - so she decided to keep going with Bad. Not like she had much choice.

  


They continued their walk, eventually coming to a stop next to the spider spawner. Puffy was out of time.

  


“Alright, get in Captain.” Bad gestured at the hole.

  


“Bad, plea-”

  


Puffy was interrupted when the ground suddenly fell out from under her, she let out a screech of panic. It took her a few moments to realise that Bad had pushed her. She splashed into the water with a thud, the jarring impact knocking her breath out of her. 

  


That motherf-

  


“Bad!” Puffy shouted up at where she knew he was, “What the hell was that?!”

  


“Go on in, Puffy!” He seemed completely oblivious to the scare he had given her, “I’ll be waiting out here.”

  


A veiled threat, he would be there if she tried to leave. That wasn’t good, in any meaning of the word. Puffy was actually going to have to go sit by the egg, or at least in the same room as it. Just thinking about It give her goosebumps, oh, how she hated the Egg.

  


Rising on shaky legs, Puffy walked towards the Egg’s room. More and more Bloodvines appeared as she walked, crawling along the walls and dripping onto the floor. She made a point to step over them, she was going to spend as little time touching the things as she could.

  


Finally entering The Egg’s room, Puffy wrinkled her nose, it smelled  _ rancid. _ Like rotted flesh and death, with just a dash of decay. She had to hold in a shiver at the sight of the vines, squirming about and pulsing. It almost seemed like they were reaching for her, trying to grab her, that only brought up the horrible thought of getting caught by them, encased in vines and death, stuck in the dark -

  


Puffy quickly snapped herself out of that line of thought, there was no point in thinking about it. She figured she might as well check on the Egg itself, see if it had grown or changed at all since she had last seen it, so she started walking deeper into the room. She had to watch her step, jumping over vines as she went - they oozed a dark crimson slime, and Puffy really didn’t want to step in it - but otherwise made good progress.

  


It didn’t take long to reach The Egg, and when it came into sight Puffy had to hold in a gasp of horror.

  


The Egg itself was . . . fine, well not fine, but unchanged. A porous surface that leaked dark fluids, it pulsed to the beat of her heart. None of which she would describe as fine, but it was expected, sadly.

  


No, what made her gasp was the person standing next to The Egg, staring at it.  _ Technoblade. _

  


“Techno?” She questioned, “What are you doing here?”

  


And Techno . . . didn’t react. He just kept staring at the egg, he didn’t even twitch when she called his name. That was very not good, Puffy just prayed he wasn’t infected.

  


She walked a bit closer to him, and started noticing some things. Techno was talking, not to her, but definitely talking. Half finished whispers that bordered audible. He sounded almost out of tune with the rest of the world, like he didn’t belong. It was thoroughly unnerving, and Puffy was kinda wishing she didn’t have to talk to him. Unfortunately, she needed to know if he had been infected yet, and get him away from The Egg if he hadn’t.

  


“Techno?” She reached out and tapped on his shoulder, “You alright?”

  


She certainly got a reaction this time, Techno spun around - stumbling over his own feet and nearly falling - to face her, his face was completely blank but his eyes were bright. A bit too bright, to be honest, bordering on mania.

  


Something was wrong.

  


“Puffy! Hi Puffy. Egg bad.” His voice dripped with excitement, contrasting with his complete stillness, “Blood for the Blood God. Hey Puffy!”

  


“Uh, Techno?” Puffy took a few steps away, something was clearly going on his head, and she didn’t wanna get stabbed for standing too close.

  


He looked towards her, but at the same time she could tell he wasn’t seeing her, eyes glassy and unfocused. Now that Puffy was looking . . . he wasn’t blinking, was he.

  


“We’re fine! It’s fine Puffy. Not your problem.” The words fell from his lips in a rush, disjointed and misplaced, “Does she know? Not Techno. I don’t think she does. Nah.”

  


“Do I know what?” Puffy found herself taking another step backwards, she really didn’t wanna deal with this.

  


“About us. She doesn’t. We should tell her!” Techno’s eyes didn’t move from her, less interested and more forgotten about. It was clear no one was looking through them, so why should they be moved? “We are allies, afterall. Yeah. Let’s!”

  


“Uh, what are you telling me?” Puffy questioned, concern flooded her, she might not have known Techno that well, but something was clearly wrong.

  


“Bout us! We’re Chat. We’re kinda important, so telling our allies should probably be a thing.” His voice was cheery, light and lilting, and so, so wrong. “Ok so, Techno hears voices. That’s us! Now we're out here, so that everyone can hear us. We borrow Techno’s body sometimes.”

  


Of all the things Puffy was expecting, that wasn’t it. It did explain some things, a lot of things actually, This encounter especially. Probably also explained the remarks about voices Techno had made when talking to the Egg. Ender, what was her life?

  


“Oh, a - alright.” She stuttered out, “So like, possession?”

  


“Kinda! Possession implies stealing, doesn’t it? We just borrow. Techno’s fine with us being here!” They paused, “Well, he thinks the body is asleep. Same difference!”

  


“Why are you here?” Puffy questioned, “If Techno doesn’t know.”

  


“We wanted to check out the Egg. It’s weird. Egg bad.” Chat’s head lolled to the side, resting on their shoulder, “I don’t like it. None of us do.”

  


“That’s good,” At least she knew that they weren’t infected, that would have really sucked, “You shouldn’t risk staying, though. You might get infected.”

  


“We can’t! There ain’t enough room in here for all of us and The Egg.” Puffy could hear the smugness in their voices, even if it didn’t translate to Techno’s body, “Just another voice. Techno is very good at ignoring voices.”

  


Well, that was . . . amazing. Really, Puffy couldn’t be happier, despite how strange the method was, that was another person immune to The Egg. And one of the strongest people on the server, as well.

  


Puffy couldn’t hold back her smile.

  


“Ok then, Chat,” Puffy started to walk away, maybe she could find a way to sneak out, “I’m going to go. This room gives me the creeps.”

  


“Ok. Bye Puffy! Bye!” Chat turned back to The Egg, unfocused eyes falling on the crimson skin, “Ew. Seeya!”

  


With a heart lighter than it had been in weeks, Puffy walked away from a madman reassured.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I really wasn't planning on continuing with this, but ya'll seem to like it, so here ya go! Hope you enjoy!


	4. Karl

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Karl meets The Chat!

He was sitting in his library when it happened, when he felt energy snap through him with a harsh shock. It was so jarring that he dropped the books he had been carrying, they thudded to the floor with a low thunk. He gasped in surprise, bracing himself on a nearby bookshelf.

Now, don’t get him wrong, Karl knew exactly what was happening, he was just a bit surprised it was happening already. He pulled his pocket watch out of his inventory, clicking it open only to be greeted by a swirling mass of golden energy. He could time travel again, he sighed lowly, he had really wanted to work on the library a bit more today, but he could hardly waste the opportunity. 

It hadn’t even been that long since his last Tale, Karl was honestly a bit surprised that it had recharged so quickly. Though, thinking about it, he supposed the haunted house hadn’t been too far into the future. Maybe short jumps took less energy?

Karl felt a headache growing the longer he stared at his watch, it was probably better to just get it over with. Maybe if he got done quick enough he could get back in time to work on his library after.

Unlikely.

Karl leaned into the energy, feeling it slam into him like a bolt of lightning. It burned, in that way it always did, lighting his body on fire with a light too powerful for his body to handle, making his mind stutter slightly. He shut his eyes, trying futility to shield them from the light. There was fire rushing through him, burning him to the ground and searing his nerves and  _ oh ender, was he dying -? _

All of a sudden, Karl’s head started to swim, and he felt a bit nauseous. He fell over onto the ground, it took him a few seconds to realize that the wood of his library had turned to grass. He laid there for a few minutes, trying futility to stop his head from spinning.

Karl peeled his eyes open, almost immediately wishing he had kept them closed, because something was clearly wrong. The grass was tinted red, with splashes of red - it looked too thick to be blood, thank Ender - overall, it was quite the . . . concerning sight.

Pushing himself to his feet, Karl looked around, he gasped in shock.

He was sitting next to the L’manberg Crater, lying just under the prime path. That wasn’t had caused his gasp, though, that honor went to the vines that covered the entire crater. He couldn’t even see the bottom, it was just a writhing mass of red. An abomination, his senses screamed about danger, away,  _ he needed to get away - _

Jumping to his feet, Karl looked around desperately. It was quiet, too quiet, where was everyone? This couldn’t be that far into the future, the world looked relatively unchanged from what he knew. Well, he thought it did, now that he was thinking about it he realized he couldn't quite remember what the crater usually looked like. There was a blank spot where knowledge was supposed to be, a faded memory that made him dizzy. 

Pushing aside the startling reminder of his declining mind, Karl spun in circles, swaying only slightly. Black spots danced in his eyes as he stood, threatening to knock him back down, but he pushed through it until they faded.

Karl took a few steps forward on shaky legs, looking at the vines with disgust. Because that's what they were, vines, he remembered them. In the half faded way he remembered most of his adventures, vague images of a mansion and death and blood and a searing pain -

He decided to stop thinking about it, then, some things were better left forgotten.

More important than all of that, where was everyone? The air was deathly quiet, there weren't even any birds chirping, no insects buzzing. The world was holding its breath.

“Quakity?” Karl called out the first name that came to mind, the words shattering the silence, “Sapnap? Anyone there?”

No response - well, the Vines writhed violently, but Karl didn’t count that. His mind was spinning, panic overtaking his rationality for a moment as he sprinted away from the crater. He had to find someone, he had to know what had happened, and how he could stop it from happening. He might be the only person able to change this future, he had to help.

His shoes became soaked with red as he ran, the decayed smell made Karl want to puke, but he couldn’t stop. He needed to help, so he kept running.

And - there! There was someone, standing to the side of the path. Looking closer, Karl could see that it was Techno, he wasn’t really surprised. If anyone could survive . . . whatever had happened, it was Techno.

“Techno!” He called out, sprinting over to the man, “Wha-”

Karl's words died in his throat when he saw the state Techno was in, covered in blood and gore - Karl couldn’t tell if it was his or not - slumped over and boneless. He didn’t react to Karl’s voice, keeping his back to him.

“Techno?” Karl questioned, quietly, “You ok?”

Technos head turned towards Karl, his body following behind slowly. His eyes were dull and empty, face blank and pale. But the worst part was his arm - It was slashed to pieces, bloody and mutilated. There was more bone than flesh showing, and it was almost completely disconnected from his shoulder. Karl felt disgust fill him, as well as shock and some level of concern. How had Techno not passed out yet?

“Techno . . .?” Karl took a few steps back, doubting Techno's stability.

“Karl? Karl. Hey!” His voice was bright, a stark contrast to his dead eyes, “Whatcha doin here Karl? Is this a TFTSMP? Ooooooh. Hey Karl!”

“I - Wha -” Karl took a moment to compose himself, shaking off the unease that Techno’s behavior was bringing, “Are you alright? You aren’t . . . You don’t look so good, Techno.”

“We’re euphoric. We aren’t Techno! Isn’t it obvious. Techno isn’t here right now. Why does everyone keep mistaking us for Techno? Egg bad. It’s kinda insulting.” His - Their? - voices filled with offence, but it was light hearted, “We’re Chat! Egg bad.”

“Chat?” Karl questioned, why did that feel familiar? 

“Yeah, Chat! We’re just borrowing this body right now, it isn't ours.” They spoke giddily, but they swayed on their feet, their arm bleeding dark blood sluggishly.

And oh - Yeah. Karl had known about Techno’s chat, had known about them in that same blurry half remembered way he knew most things. 

What he hadn’t known about, however, was the fact they could apparently take over Techno - or something to that effect.

Even worse, Chat looked to be high on bloodlust - they were unsteady on their feet, eyes bright with mania - something Karl had seen from Techno, but not Chat. He had a feeling Chat was worse, and that was saying something. He was still a bit scared of Techno, if he was being honest, the one time he had lost himself stayed stuck in Karl’s head, even if he knew that Techno hadn’t done it on purpose.

His blood red eyes and animalistic snarling had put a healthy dose of fear into Karl - something that had never really gone away - so he was less than pleased to be facing Chat in a similar situation.

“O- Oh,” Karl took another few steps back, “Yeah, I know you guys.”

Their eyes filled with glee at that, seeming excited to be acknowledged, but even their joy was wrong, seeming toxic and far too bright.

“Yay! Egg bad. He knows us.” They stayed stock still as they spoke, their voices seeming to echo through the air strangely, like they didn’t quite belong. “Blood for The Blood God. He remembers us!”

“I - Yeah, I do.” Karl stuttered out, still in some form of shock, “Chat, what happened?”

Karl regretted his words the moment he spoke them, because Chat started speaking quickly and angrily - they were emotional about this, he could tell - their words overlapping.

“The Egg - Tommy tried to - Eggpire, they - Phil - We had to-” Their words blurred together, going so fast that Karl couldn’t understand them, “Blood for The Blood God.”

Their last words were oddly stable, for what he had seen about them, they spoke as one and with conviction. It was almost more unnerving then their broken and jagged thoughts.

“You - slower, please.” Karl asked, his nerves showing through his voice, “What happened.”

Then, before Karl’s eyes, blood started to dribble from Chats mouth, dripping down their chin and staining their lips dark red. More blood came from their nose, ears, and eyes. Painting a gruesome picture of death and internal decay, it almost looked as if Chat was harming themselves by speaking.

“The Egg’s Infection spread. The Eggpire killed Tommy, everyone else retaliated. Blood for The Blood God.” Chat's voice carried some sort of reverb as they spoke. “We had to purge the infection. We sealed off the server. We cleaned house! We couldn’t let it spread.”

Karl’s blood ran cold, did that mean - ?

“I - is everyone else . . .” He hesitated to say it, he didn’t want to make it real, “Dead?”

“Yup! It was for the best. It was all we could do. Techno asked us to help, we did!” A toothy grin spread across their face, looking forced and out of place, blood stained their lips and dripped down their chin, “The Egg won’t get everything. We haven’t won but we can’t lose.”

“H - How are you alive?” Karl knew he sounded a bit hysteric, probably because he was, “You - How?”

“Who said we were alive? We aren’t. Techno’s joined the blood god’s horde.” A smile split their face, broken and manic and wrong, “We’re just cleaning up for him! One last favour. He died a while ago. We have to leave soon! We have to finish here first.”

“You aren’t finished?” Karl cast his gaze around the ruined landscape, had someone survived? “Is there someone left?”

“Well, obviously. Yup! Course there is.” They took a few stumbling steps forward, clumsy and unsteady, “You’re still here, aren’t you? Blood for The Blood God. Blood for The Blood God. Blood for The Blood God!”

Their chanting rose in fever, and taking a few steps back, Karl suddenly realized he was going to have to fight them. Which was . . . in all honestly not something he wanted to do. It didn’t seem he was going to have much choice, though, because quicker then he could comprehend Chat was upon him.

Jumping back, Karl just barely dodged a slash from Chats claws. Ender, even half dead they were still so fast!

Karl pulled his sword out of his inventory, taking a few more steps back to get away from the thing in front of him, they followed, trying to get in close enough to hit him. He swung out at their left arm - if he could take it out of commission he could take away another one of Chats weapons - leaving a deep slash. 

They didn’t seem to feel it though, only moving forward again at an inhuman speed. They swung at him again, and this time he couldn’t dodge in time. Karl grit his teeth at the pain that shot though his chest, before darting away. He had always been fast, he had too play to his advantages here. Chat hit heavy but were a bit unwieldy, especially now that they were down an arm.

Realizing that all of their weapons were close range, Karl darted away, getting more distance as he pulled out his crossbow and fired at Chat. Instinct had him aiming for a fatal blow, even though he had a feeling it wouldn’t work. Sure enough, even as the arrow sunk into Chat with a squelch, they continued moving towards him. Even though that arrow had certainly pierced their heart.

It was then that he noticed something, Chat wasn't breathing, their eyes were glossed over, and their wounds bled sluggishly, not the pouring waterfalls of blood that would be expected. Which, by itself, wasn’t that concerning.

But Chat had said that Techno died, which meant that Karl was fighting a corpse.

How was he supposed to kill someone who was already dead?

Shoving that thought out of his mind, Karl quickly placed his crossbow back into his inventory, pulling out an axe. He needed to do a lot of damage, his usual death by papercuts method wouldn’t work here. He stood still, waiting for Chat to come to him.

As expected, it didn’t take long for them to charge him, manic laughter bubbling from their lips as they went, more blood falling from their lips. Karl was fighting for his life, Chat was fighting for fun. 

The second Chat got close, Karl dashed to the side, letting them run past him. They skidded to a stop, spinning around to face him, but were too slow. Karl slammed his axe into Chat’s good shoulder, nearly separating it from their body in the process. They spun towards him, opening their mouth, only for a waterfall of blood to pour from it.

“C’mon, Karl. Let it happen!” Their words were slurred, blood bubbling as they spoke, “You’ll die anyways, the Egg’ll getcha. We’re just trying to help! We’ll make it as quick and fun as possible.”

With those last empty assurances, Chat charged Karl, even with their arms dangling limply at their side. Karl tried to dodge, but was too slow, and then Chat was tackling him and their teeth were buried in his throat and he was screaming as he choked on blood - everything went white.

Karl jolted upright with a strangled scream, he took in deep breaths as he tried to calm down. He looked around, he was lying in bed in his house, cushy blankets piled around him and pillows propping him up. He let out a sigh of relief, he was back home. He rubbed his throat, it was still burning a bit, phantom pains of a death that had never happened. Jumping to his feet, Karl rushed to his library.

He had another chance, that future never had to happen.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I just realized how much of a sandbox Karl is, I can throw him into as many apocalyptical and traumatic scenarios as I want and he can always go back to become part of the plot. I love him so much and this is only making it better.  
> I swear I love him, hurting my characters is how I show affection.  
> Would you like some bonus sad?  
> Something that I didn’t mention and I bet a few of you are wondering is who hurt Chats arm so bad.  
> . . .  
> It was Phil, and he only got so many hits in because he and Techno spar a lot, so he knew his fighting style.  
> Poor dude wasn’t gonna win against Chat, but he put up a good fight.  
> Hope you enjoyed!


End file.
